


Not Quite Lace and Brocade

by DelilahBlueEyes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-12
Updated: 2012-12-12
Packaged: 2017-11-20 23:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/590653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelilahBlueEyes/pseuds/DelilahBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle gets tired of her limited wardrobe and whips up something special for herself. Rush is impressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Quite Lace and Brocade

**Author's Note:**

> So this came about because of my obsession with the bed sheets in Destiny. Have you seen them?! What are they made out of? They're so shimmery! So I decided to write about it! Dedicated to my dear tumblr wife theclassics4 who acted as my beta and who is perfectly supportive. <3

Rush was sitting alone in the bridge of the ship when the door whooshed open behind him, startling him out of his monitor-induced daze.

“Hey Rush, could you tie this for me?” 

“I’m a bit busy, Miss French. You can’t manage a simple knot or find someone who could do it for you?”

“Well, that’s why I’m here, silly man. You were the closest to my room and I don’t quite feel decent running about the ship with my dress unlaced! It’s just such an awkward angle that I can’t manage it myself.”

She kept blathering on but his attention had been caught and he couldn’t be bothered to listen. Dress? She didn’t have a dress. She’d come aboard with several pairs of pants, maybe two skirts and a variety of blouses, the only clothing she’d managed to keep closely enough to get onto Destiny with them. He’d seen every article of clothing to her name paired in every possible combination and he’d never seen a dress. Not that he looked at her all that often but she hung around an awful lot and he couldn’t help it if his eyes sometimes strayed from his monitor to track her movement across the room and the way it made her hair bounce. He spun in his chair to see what manner of dress she’s managed to scrounge up and froze. 

She was indeed standing there in a dress. Fat tan and cream stripes spiraled down the skirt, counter to the solid blocks of the same colors that comprised the bodice. The thin straps hugged her shoulders, one cream and tan each. The sweetheart cut of the neckline showed just a hint of cleavage and the sparkle of her tiny diamond necklace that he’d never been close enough to get a good look at thus far. Overall, the picture was very nice, the bodice cinched at her waist and the skirt flaring out around her hips. He found himself looking at her perhaps a bit longer than was strictly necessary but she didn’t seem to notice. Why did it look so familiar?

“Where did you get that?” He asked, his brow furrowed. The fabric shimmered at him as she bent slightly to look down at herself and he was sure he’d seen it before.

“Oh, I, uh, I made it and a few others from the bedding in a few rooms far away from where everyone else is quartered. Could you…?” She gestured him over and turned away when he approached, revealing a cord threaded through precisely made holes down the back of the dress, the ends dangling beside each other at the bottom. He hesitantly took one end in each hand and pulled them gently to close the large gap between the crossed paths of the cord.

“Keep pulling. Don’t worry about hurting me. I grew up wearing corsets and I’ve lost a bit of weight since we got here.” 

One hand came into his view to pull her hair forward over her shoulder and it revealed an entire expanse of creamy skin that made him fumble and almost lose his grip. He pulled and pulled the cord until only a sliver of her smooth back was still visible, tying the extra lengths of cord off in a pretty bow and just barely resisting the urge to smooth his hands down over the sides of her hips. She didn’t immediately turn to face him and when she did there was a soft smile on her face that he couldn’t help but flicker back at her for a moment.

“It looks very nice, dear,” he murmured and had to take a step back when he heard the gentleness reflected plainly in his voice. He turned half away from her to tap a few random keys next to a console to have something to do, instead of stare at her and feel awkward. “Interesting color choice though.”

“Thank you, Nick. Not the most ordinary choices, I know, but I did manage a lovely burgundy wrap dress from a few pillowcases!” And damn if he couldn’t imagine how she looked with a little blood red dress tied snugly around her. “Anyway, I’m running late for a card game and sort of karaoke party we’re having if you’d like to take a break and come with me?”

When he looked at her again she seemed perfectly at ease, her arms raised to begin a braid on one side of her head to connect with its twin on the other side. She was smiling and happy and (he just noticed) barefoot. For just a moment he was tempted to accept, to abandon his quest to understand Destiny’s systems as quickly as humanly possible to go and spend the evening with her. To laugh and drink that horrid, sinus clearing excuse for alcohol and rub her dainty little feet when she grew tired from dancing and hear her generally off-key but charming singing echoing against the metal walls around him. 

Just a moment, really. Then he remembered where they were and how little anyone would want him at their little party. Besides, he had too much to do here to go swanning off with a pretty girl. He snatched up his notebook and held it before him like a shield, flicking nervously through a few pages before looking back up at her. 

“Afraid I’m much too busy for that but you go and have fun.” He moved back to his chair and sat down, turning it away from her to face his screen again. “Go and share your nice new dress with your friends. I’m sure they’ll all want one too.”

There was silence for a few moments and he stayed resolutely focused on his screen, refusing to turn and see the relief almost assuredly on her face at the moment. She couldn’t really have wanted him to come with her.

“Oh, of course. I-… of course. Well, I’ll leave you to your work then. But don’t work too hard, alright? We don’t need you collapsing again.” 

He waved over his shoulder as the door opened and closed behind her and sat staring blankly ahead when he was alone. He knew how kind she was, she was practically a mother figure to half of the people on board. She’d only asked because she could see how isolated he was, how everyone mistrusted and shunned him. She had only asked out of some strange need to see everyone around her happy and squared away. He’d imagined the little quaver in her voice when she’d begun speaking. He’d heard what he knew somewhere deep down he wanted to hear, of course. A lovely woman asking him to spend any amount of time with her? Of course he’d imagined it.

Having assured himself that he’d misread the situation, that he was as likely to be alone now as he ever was he set back to work. There was coding to be done. Always something to take his mind off of the way the room seemed somehow colder without her in it.


End file.
